The Gem of Ambala
by Izzu
Summary: Soren could not have imagine what he would find the moment he flew through the burning forest of Ambala. SorenXPelli


az: Because I always wanted to imagine what could have happened during the first meet. Well I tried. I saw some other peeps did the same in more words than I did, but I liked mine to be short.

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The Gem of Ambala 

Written bt Izzu alias honou-no-izumi

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"What's the matter, Cap'n?" Soren asked as the rest of the weathering and colliering chaw arrived to the cliff. Ezylryb lifted a talon to point towards the direction of Ambala as the rest of them quickly picked up the news.

"It looks like a pretty big fire over there." Otulissa said as Bubo arrived and cut her off before she could say some more.

"Time ter get summore supply of bonk coals, ya think...?"

Elvanryb frowned as he lighted down near them. "We might need to get the other chaws to help out. There might be some owls needed saving from that fire." he said as Ezylryb and him exchanged glances. He turned towards Soren and the others. "I'll inform Barran and Boron about this, all of you inform the rest of the search-and-rescue chaw and tracking chaw. We'll leave as soon as everyone has gathered."

So that was how it started and the three chaws headed towards Ambala. While the colliering chaw's main mission was to collect as many coals as they can, Soren and the rest of his chaw would also be helping in the search-and-rescue team in looking for any owl that might have been trapped inside the forest fire.

It was during this time that Soren found Pellimore, a female barn owl. He was on his second round for diving into the fire for coals as Martin flew up to drop the embers he found and report on the situation. He eyed the dead drops and burning trees below him before Martin called him.

"Soren, while I was looking for coals down there I think I heard a faint cry for help. I might be imagining it but you might be able to find out more."

Soren nodded. "Tell Elvanryb that I'm onto it and ask for backup in case we needed it," he said before he started power-diving into the forest fire below him.

Soren turned his head around as he strained for any sound that he could hear amidst the sounds of burning fire. He almost dismissed the task before finally picking the sound that Martin has heard. Adjusting the position of his ear tufts until he managed to hear the sound clearly, Soren flew towards the direction the sound lead him.

It was a barn owl, he told himself. There was no mistake about that. Such familiar heartbeats as his own, and it seemed that the owl was around his age. Soren flew over an area where a few dead drops and trees still burning.

It was there that he found her; a scared female barn owl clinging onto the branch of the tree, where her hollow used to reside. It seemed to him that the owl was perhaps scared or worse—in a yeep state, so much that she could not muster the courage to fly. Soren hurried towards her as he tried to call her attention towards him.

"Hey, the fire is getting bigger. Fly! I'll help you to get out of here!"

The female barn owl blinked as she turned towards him in alarm. "Ah! A Pure One! Stay away from me, evil one!"

"I'm not a Pure One! I'm from the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole, a Guardian. I want to help you, you have to get off that branch and fly! Or you die in this fire!" Soren tried to explain himself as the female barn owl continued to fight him off.

"Don't you lie to me! I would not leave this place with you, I'd rather die than joining you Pure Ones!"

Soren blinked. _What an amazing owl this one!_ he thought. Even when her situation was dire, she would not even allow herself to be captured. But this situation was not good given the circumstances now. Soren surveyed the tree the owl was perched in and noticed some of the higher branches of the tree burning brightly. He could smell the thick layer of smoke that already started forming. Any time soon the air pressure around here will change with the rising heat and who knows what will happen. He remembered the one time before when Ezyl had asked him what other dangers smokes in forest fires would bring to any unsuspecting owl and he cringed. He had answered out of gizzuition but he did not want to find out for real! _He needed to get this owl out of here!_ Soren turned back towards the owl.

"I really am telling you the truth! I'm not one of the Pure Ones! Please believe me!" he cried desperately as the female owl kept showing her warning posture towards him. Soren looked around desperately for something to convince her that he was from the great tree. The Legends! He remembered how his mind had cleared during the time he and Gylfie had been subjected to moon-blinking and moon-scalding. He remembered how Gylfie had saved him when he was almost killed during their infiltration mission to St. Aggies. He remembered how the St. Aggies owls had fainted at the mere mention of it! Neither the owls of St. Aggie nor the Pure Ones would ever recite the legends boldly, yes, he would do that!

"I'll prove to you who I am!"

Thus Soren began, "It was in the time of the endless volcanoes. For years and years in the land known as Beyond the Beyond, flames had scraped the sky, turning clouds the color of glowing embers both day and night. The volcanoes that had been dormant for years had begun to erupt. Ash and dust blew across the land and, although it was thought to be a curse from Great Glaux on high, it was something else. For this was the time when Grank, the first collier, was hatched. This was the time when a few special owls discovered that fire could be tamed."

The owl was so surprised at this she lowered her stance. "The Fire Cycle! Quite an appropriate choice, considering the situation we're in." she replied, seemingly amused.

Soren managed a sigh of relief. "Come! We have no time to lose!" He glanced around to see trees full of saps exploding around them. In no time, the same fate would come to this tree the owl was still perching on. "Come!"

"Would it be all right? I'm not sure if I can fly out of this fire!"

Soren gave her an amused smile. "How did you think I managed to fly through this fire? Come on, I'll help you fly towards safety."

That seemed to do it as the female owl let go of the branch she was on and flew towards Soren. Soren nodded towards her before turning around towards the gathering spot. The female barn owl followed him from behind as he led her through the fire.

When they arrived, Soren saw that there were several other owls that have been rescued. Many of them looked dishevelled and alarmed over losing their homes but at least they were alive and well. He noticed some of his chaw-mates were not around as Bubo flew by.

"The others were helping the search-and-rescue chaw to look for any other casualties in the fire. And I think we've gathered enough coals for now until the next forest fire." Bubo pointed a talon towards the two coal buckets nearby. "Even if collecting coals warn't the greatest import now, I see y'all found lots. I never gonna lack any bonks while y'all still around fe' sure."

Soren looked at the Great Horned fondly. It was true that ever since he, Otulissa, Ruby and Martin had joined the chaw, they rarely ever brought back any less than bonk coals. Even Martin was ever so good at gathering glowworms.

"You're a collier?" the female barn owl gasped as Bubo and Soren turned towards her.

"Oh! This was the female owl I saved back at the burning trees over there." Soren hastily explained to Bubo as he turned to face the female owl. "By the way, what's your name?"

The female owl gasped in surprise at realizing that she have not even introduced herself amidst the calamity. She immediately tried to rectify this. "I'm so sorry. My name is Pellimore. And sorry... about earlier, hmm..."

"Soren. My name is Soren."

Her eyes shone bright as she seemed to recollect something before remembering herself. "Thank you, Soren. For saving my life."

Bubo then started telling them about the dangers of being trapped in a forest fires, especially when an owl being fire-dazed or gone fire-yeep as they waited for the rest of the chaws to return. Before long, all of them made their way back towards the great tree.

xxx

"Off reading again, Soren?"

Soren turned his glance towards Ezylryb's desk where the old owl always sat whenever he was in the library. He smiled at him as Ezylryb churred at him softly.

"Makes me wonder what captivates you so much about that particular story..."

Soren's chest feather puffed slightly as he replied in his defence. "I liked reading these stories! These knightly stories of the Others really do seem as similar as that of our Legends of Ga'Hoole. I can't help but felt drawn to read more about it. Besides—"

Ezyl churred again much to Soren's dismay. "My lad, if you loved those kinds of chronicles, I told you... you could always come to my private library for some good read."

Soren smiled again as he noted the sparkle in the old ryb's eyes. My, how on earth this old owl always managed to catch him off guard? He looked at him fondly. "Perhaps, another time. Perhaps next time I'll hop into your hollow to read on that History of the War of Ice Claws written by that Lyze of Kiel."

Ezylryb churred to himself as he noticed the twinkle in Soren's eyes. "What interest do you have over an old saga written by an old warrior owl like that?"

Soren shrugged. "Well, I could learn a thing or two from that old owl still... including the history of the land he came from. Perhaps in the future I have a need of such wisdom from the past."

Ezylryb shook his head in amusement before turning back towards the book he had been reading. But the next moment he paused as he turned his glance towards the entrance of the library. "Oh my, it looks like you have a visitor... Soren."

Soren looked up from the book he was reading as he turned towards the direction Ezyl was motioning at. There at the entrance, stood the female Barn owl Pellimore. To his alarm, Ezylryb started motioning for her to come closer.

"How do you feel, lass? Have you gotten used to the great tree now?"

"A little bit, this place was so lively with many activities, I'm not sure where to go."

Ezylryb looked at her with interest as he glanced briefly towards the library's entrance. "Hmm... it should be a few hours still before First Black. Restless... are you?"

Pelli nodded nervously as Soren noticed her staring towards Ezylryb's left foot. Soren remembered the days when he and Gylfie used to be so terrified of seeing the ryb's mangled talons. He supposed the same would be for Pellimore. But right now Ezylryb did not even notice the stares as he continued talking to the owl.

"I suppose you've come here for some book reading, eh? A good hobby to have if ever I would say..."

"Oh no... I've just wandered around, this place after all still new to me and I'm not sleepy. And I saw Soren flew in here. Sadly to say I don't know how to read but I do know a lot of the Ga'Hoolian legends."

"Legends... eh?" Soren could not help seeing his mentor's eyes twinkle as he said the words aloud. _What's this old owl thinking right now?_, he wondered.

"Why, Soren here also loved the legends, he was reading one right now. Even if it was on the legends of the Others. Perhaps he could teach you how to read."

Soren managed a small gasp as Pellimore looked up expectantly towards him. His voice shook as he spoke. "Well... I guess I could teach you how to read." he started to say as Pelli hopped to his side.

"What story were you reading just now?" she asked as Soren shrugged.

"It's a story about the Other called King Arthur, on how he became a king and the legends about his kingdom called Camelot. I guess you can say, the story interest me."

"Oh, it sounds interesting. I would like to know about this story too." she exclaimed.

"I'm going down to the kitchens for some tea. I'll tell the nest-maids to send you two some tea as well" Ezylryb called out to them, much to Soren's chagrin.

Soren hastily followed after him. "You don't need to tell them, I'll do it myself."

"No, no... my lad. Stay. I'm not that ancient so much that I cannot go down to the kitchen myself. Now you go teach that young lass over there while I go out fer a while."

Soren ruffled his feathers slightly as he returned to Pelli's side. "Sorry about that."

Pelli laughed. "Both of you seemed so close."

He flashed a nervous grin towards her. "That we are. Even though... when I first came to this tree with my friends, I used to be so scared of him. You saw yourself, Ezyl can appear so intimidating to others."

Pelli churred. "Indeed!" she paused for a while before continued. "I've heard about you, as well as your mentor Ezylryb. I never imagined one day meeting you myself."

Soren was surprised. "Oh really? I never realised that there were stories about me."

"But there are!" Pelli said with wonder, "Owls here and there always talked about it. Stories about the great tree were always told in many hollows but most owls thought of them as just stories. Ever since you and the band made your famous journey to the great tree, many things happened and more owls now believed that the great tree existed. I always loved the legends surrounding the great tree and always wanted to one day be able to come and learn how to read as well as many other things that could be learned here. I just, didn't expect to come here the way I did..."

Soren patted her back with the tip of his wing. "I understand. It's the same thing for me. Ever since escaping St. Aggies I told myself that I'd learn to read. It was from the library there where my friend Gylfie and I made our escape."

Soren smiled at her as she gasped in wonder before he started to teach her how to read.

xxx

"There they come now, the little lovebirds!"

Gylfie kicked Twilight with her legs. "Shush! Don't tease him!"

"Tease me what?" asked Soren as Pelli and him lighted down on the perch. Digger chortled loudly. "What's so funny?" he asked again as he stared at Digger in wonder.

Gylfie churred. "It's nothing, Soren. Twilight was jealous that you had a mate and he doesn't."

"Shush you! I didn't say that! I will never be so desperate to have something like that and be... be... so love-love like that!"

Soren churred. "Honestly Twilight, it wasn't so bad—"

"Seriously Soren, I never imagine you to take a mate—I remembered hearing you saying that you won't—"

Pelli gave Soren a look as Soren shrugged. "That was different. I don't think all owls in love gonna be like those Masked Owl pair we met before. My parents were different and so do—I think—a lot other owls. And when I said that before, that was before I met Pelli..." He turned towards Pelli. "It's a long story, dear."

Pelli churred. "I suppose it was—" she managed to say as Gylfie reassured her.

"Don't you worry Pelli, Twilight meant no harm."

"Just hope Twilight don't feel inspired to grace you with one of his songs," Digger added in jest as Twilight exclaimed that he would do just that before flying off. Soren stared at them in alarm as Gylfie and Digger reassured him that they would stop Twilight from doing anything embarrassing before following after him. Pelli laughed again as Soren turned towards her in dismay.

"So what's the long story?"

Soren shrugged. "Well, this happened during our journey to the great tree for the first time. We just barely escaped being mobbed by crows when this pair of Masked owls came to visit. The pair of them were so into each other it gave me creelies—" Soren started flapping his wings at her to stop her from giggling. "Honestly, I being so young at that time... and I never seen even my parents being that lovey dovey, of course I felt uncomfortable seeing them."

Pelli smiled. "So, what happen after that?"

Soren cocked his head slightly. "Well, that's the last time I ever considered eating sugargliders. Those owls ate them so much I wondered if that was the reason they were so sugary to each other," He glanced upwards to see Twilight still hovering about, sounding like he'd just composed a new poem at his expense. He shrugged again.

"Well, good thing I never mentioned that it was Ezyl that matched us together at the library."

Pelli's eyes twinkled. "Are you sure? It's not before that in Ambala?"

Soren laughed. "Perhaps it was so but if not because of Ezyl, we'd never have gotten along as well as it did."

"I supposed you were right," Pelli said slowly before smiling, "—but I did find that owl who recited the Fire Cycle to me that time in the middle of a forest fire to be quite so charming."

"You were also charming yourself, my dear brave owl." Soren said as he leaned his head closer to Pelli's.


End file.
